Suction cleaner



Nov. 27, 1945. H. B. WHITE 2,389,881

SUCTION CLEANER Filed April 19, I943 2 Sheets-Sheet l /9 1 Y I vINVENTOR. Harry B Wk 1 19 Mm @455. H. 5. WHITE 2938998831 SUCTIONCLEANER Filed April 19, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 27, 1945SUCTION CLEANER Harry B. White, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The HooverCompany, .North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April19, 1943, Serial No. 483,549

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and moreparticularly to a new and novel semi-automatic nozzle-height-adjustingconstruction for a suction cleaner. More specifically, the inventioncomprises an improved and simplified semi-automatic nozzle heightadjustment which is characterized by the simplicity of the mechanismwhich accomplishes the correct positioning of the nozzle for cleaningupon any surface covering upon the operator depressing a foot lever andthereafter releasing the same lever.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedsuction cleaner. It is another object of the present invention toprovide a new and improved semi-automatic nozzleheight-adjustingconstruction in a suction cleaner. A further object of the invention isto provide a suction cleaner having movably mounted front wheels whichare semi-automatically positioned at the correct height upon any surfacecovering by the operator depressing a foot pedal. A still further objectof the invention is to provide a suction cleaner in which the operatorneed only depress a foot lever to enable the machine to lower itselfinto contact with the surface covering to determine the top planethereof, the release of the foot lever automatically positioning thefront wheels of the machine to a correct height for operation upon thatcovering. These and other more specific objects will appear upon readingthe following specification and claims and upon considering inconnection therewith the a tached drawings to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of theinvention is disclosed and in which the same reference character refersto the same part throughout:

Figure 1 is a side view of a suction cleaner constructed in accordancewith the present invention positioned upon a bare surface, certain partsbeing broken away and shown in section to disclose the semi-automaticnozzle-height-positioning means;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cleaner illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial side view of the cleaner illustrated in Figure 1and shows the nozzle position upon the cleaner being transferred to asurface covering and with the nozzle height adjusted for very thin rugsor bare floors as in Figure 1;

Figure 4 discloses a step in the adjusting'operation with the foot leverdepressed; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but with the foot lever releasedfrom its position in Figure 4 and the nozzle adjusted to its properoperating position fo the surface covering upon which it is supported.

The early forms of nozzle-height adjusting mechanisms for suctioncleaners comprised manual adjusting means which required the operator touse his judgment in making the adjustment. Usually the operator wasrequired to bend over the cleaner and while in an uncomfortable positionmake the adjustment. Experience indicated that these nozzle heightadjusting means were usually left in a mid-position for all supportingcoverings and that only infrequently did an operator make the adjustmentnecessary for emcient cleaning.

In the nozzle height adjustment constructed in accordance with thepresent invention it is not necessary for the operator to bend over themachine no to exercise a judgment in positioning the nozzle at a properheight for cleaning efhciency. With a very thin covering the nozzle canbe adjusted low relative to the plane of the supporting wheels, whereaswith a thick covering the nozzle adjustment would be relatively highwith respect to that same plane. In the construction ofapplicants'invention, the operator need only depress an operating footlever which effects the release of the nozzle which then drops into contact with the supporting surface thereby determining the plane of thatsurface with respect to the plane of the supporting wheels. The lattercarry a part of the cleaner weight and are therefore somewhat depressedinto the supporting surface covering. Subsequent release of the footlever results in the raising of the nozzle through a travel which isdependent upon the initial rela-' tionship of the plane of the nozzlemouth and the plane of the supporting wheels as mentioned. No judgmentupon the part of the operator is required, merely an actuating forceupon the lever.

Referring again to the drawings a suction cleaner is illustrated whichis seen to comprise a main casing including a nozzle I which houses arotatable agitator 2 having rigid heater and brush elements and which isadapted for rotation in contact with a surface covering undergoingcleaning between the nozzle lips 3 and 4. Nozzle l is interiorlyconnected by an air passageway 6 to the eye I of the fan chamber 8 whichhouses a rotatable fan 9 carried by the dependin end of a motor shaftII, the motor being positioned within an overlying casing 2 and beingindicated generally by the reference character l 3 and being of any wellknown type suitable for the propulsion of a suction cleaner fan andagitator... The

lower end of the motor shaft II is formed as a pulley and drives a,power-transmitting belt I 4 which connects to a centrally located pulleyformed upon agitator 2 to revolve that element. The rotation of thesuction-creating fan 9 creates a reduced pressure within the nozzle lwhich draws cleaning air between the lips 3 and 4, rearwardly throughthe air passage-way 6 and through the eye 1 into the fan chamber 8, fromwhich it is exhausted via an exhaust passageway I6 into a suitable dustbag l1 which is removably secured by manually operable nuts Hi to therear face of the cleaner formed by the junction of side walls l9 whichextend rearwardly from the ends of the nozzle to form skirts at thesides of the fan chamber and exhaust passageway I6. A pivoted handle It]provides means by which the cleaner may be propelled.

The front of the machine is adjustably supported by spaced wheels 2|carried upon a pivoted crank shaft 22 which extends across the machineand over the passageway 6 within the motor hood l2. The adjustment bywhich the position of the wheels 2| relative to the machine body isfixed will be hereinafter fully disclosed and comprises the presentinvention. The rear wheels are indicated at 23 and are carried by aU-shaped bracket 24 which is pivoted at each of its side arms at 25, theforward extremities of the arms forming abutment surfaces 26 adapted tocontact the underside of the fan chamber 8 to determine the lowermostposition of the wheels 23 un.- der a downward force exerted by a coilspring 21 positioned directly above the bracket between the wheels 23.The coil spring 21 is ufficiently strong that it holds the rear wheels23 in the lowermost position made possible by the contact of theabutment element 26 with the underside of the fan chamber. The onlypurpose for making the bracket 24 pivoted is that one of the abutmentelements 26 normally obstructs a converter seat 28 which is adapted toreceive and seat a converter element when the cleaner is to be used inoff-the-floor cleaning. Abutment element 26 within converter seat 28prevents 'the insertion of a dusting tool until the rear of the machinehas been forced downwardly against the action of the coil spring 21,thereby raising the nozzle and the enclosed agitator '2 into aninoperative position. In this depressed position, the interferingabutment element 26 is removed from the converter seat 28 and theoperator can insert a converter element.

Turning now to the adjustment for the front wheels 2|, it is seen thatone of the wheel is supported upon an integral crank arm which isabutted by a large relatively strong coil spring 3| which at all timesexerts a force to lower the Wheels. The opposite crank arm of the shaft22, however, comprises a separate element 32 which is fixed to theshaft. Element 32 comprises a clamping seat 33 which seats upon theshaft 22 proper and an offset plate 34 which extends rearwardly and isformed at its rearward edge as a toothed sector 36. The seat 33 and thesector plate 34 are joined by an offset portion which in effect formsthe crank arm and the wheel 2| is supported adjacent thereto. Sectorplate 34 is completed by an abutment or stop element 31 which provides asubstantially vertical rearward- Iy facing contact edge.

Cooperating with the sector plate 34 to fix the position of the frontwheels 2| is a pivoted pedal 4| "the rearward extremity of which extendsoutwardly at the side of the cleaner and under the adjacent skirt I9.Pedal 4| is pivoted upon a pin 42 carried by a bracket 43 attached tothe underside of the fan chamber 8 and its end forward of pivot 42 isformed as a stop or shoulder 44 adapted to abut the stop plate 31 on theplate 34 to prevent the further downward pivotal movement of the sectorplate under the urging of the coilspring 3| which acts upon shaft 22.

A coil spring 46 carried by the pivot pin 42 of the pedal 4| contacts atone of its ends a fixed pin 41 on the bracket 43 and at its opposite endexerts a force upon a pawl 48 which i pivoted to pedal 4| at 49. Spring46 contacts pawl 48 near point 49 and exerts a pivoting force both uponthe pawl, tending to move it to its outermost position in which it abutsthe shoulder 44 upon the pedal and also, through exerting a forceadjacent pivot pin 49 of the pawl, exerts a force upon the pedal itselfwhich tends to pivot it in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed inFigure 1, for example, that is, exerts 'a force which tends to lift thepedal 4|. Pawl 48 carries a pin 5| at its end which is of a size andwhich is so positioned as to be adapted to engage the teeth 36 of thesector plate 34. Under the actuation of the coil spring 46 and in theoperation of the machine, pawl 48 engages the toothed sector of plate 34and forces the plate downward until further movement is prevented by thecontact of abutments 31 and 44 upon the plate 34 and lever 4!,respectively. Obviously the final posion of plate 34, and so of thefront wheels 2| which move down as the plate 34 moves down, will bedetermined by the point of initial engagement of the pawl with thetoothed sector which point is in turn determined by the angular positionof plate 34 relative to the body when t cleaner nozzle is resting uponthe surface, the lever 4| being depressed.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The machine having beenadjusted for use upon a very thin rug or bare surface is relatedrelative to the supporting surface at its nozzle end as illustrated inFigure 1. Let us assume that the cleaner so adjusted is transferred andwithout ad justment from that bare floor or very thin rug to arelatively thick rug, of the type illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5. Thenozzle I is then t o low at its surface-contacting mouth, defined by thelips 3 and 4, for effective cleaning. The nozzle lips are so low thatthe covering could not be lifted by the nozzle suction from thesupporting surface and the lips would tend to dig into the covering andto make cleaner propulsion unduly difficult. In Figure 3 the cleaner isshown in this improper adjustment for the supporting rug and it is seenthat the nozzle is in contact with the surface covering and reststhereon. The front wheels 2| have penetrated to a distance or below thetop plane of the supportingsurface.

To adjust the machine properly for its new supporting covering, theoperator exerts .a down-. ward force upon the foot pedal 4| anddepresses it to the position illustrated in Figure 4. This results inthe forward end of the pedal including the pawl 48 and abutment 44moving from'the sector 36 and the abutment 31. Theshaft .22 then freeand the front supporting wheels 2z| are forced to a firm base in thecovering under the actuation of the coil spring 3|. The increase in thepenetration of the front wheels 2| is indicated by the increase in thedepth b in Figure 4 over the depth a as illustrated in Figure 3. Thenozzle still rests upon the supporting surface but the cleaner weightwhich it carries is much greduced. In this relationship the plane of thenozzle mouth is at a height 12 above the plane of the front supportingWheels 2|.

This preliminary determination having been made, that is, thedetermination of the plane of the top of the covering and the plane ofthe front wheels 2! at the firm base, the machine is now ready to adjustitself. The operator now releases the foot pedal 41 which moves in acounter-clockwise direction, from the position illustrated in Figure 4to that illustrated in Figure 5, and under the urging of the coil spring45. The pawl 48 has been pivoted to the extreme forward positionpermitted by the stop 44 upon the pedal 4| when the pedal was depressed,as illustrated in Figure 4, and as the lever pivots in acounter-clockwise direction, the pin 5| upon the pawl seats between twoteeth of the sector 36. The particular point of engagement isdetermined, as previously stated by the position of the sector plate 34relative to the cleaner body which in turn is related to the distance bwhich separates the plane of the front supporting wheels and the planeof the nozzle mouth. Pin 5| having engaged the sector, the forward andcounterclockwise movement of pedal 4| continues under the actuation ofcoil spring 46 and the pawl meshing with the sector pivots the sectorplate 34 downwardly from the position shown in Figure 4 to that shown inFigure 5. This downward movement of the plate continues, it beingaccompanied by the downward movement of wheels 2|, until the pedalabutment 44 contacts the sector plate abutment 31. Further downwardmovement of sector plate 34 under the urging of the coil spring 46 isthen prevented by the resulting locking action and the cleaner is now inproper adjustment for the covering which supports it.

Were the machine now to be returned to its initial supporting surfaceillustrated in Figure 1,

the depression and subsequent release of the pedal 4| would result inthe re-engagement of the pawl 48 with the sector 36 at the pointillustrated in Figure 1 and the nozzle would be adjusted to the heightillustrated in Figure 1.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, a body having a nozzle 4 with lips, a wheel,means pivotally mounting said wheel on said body, a toothed sectorfixedly connected to said mounting means and movable relative to saidbody in the pivotal movement of said means, a pedal pivotally mounted onsaid body, a

pivoted pawl carried by said pedal adapted to seat selectively upon saidsector in the movement of said pedal in one direction, spring meansbetween said body and said pedal to move said pedal in a direction toeffect the engagement of said pawl and sector and to move said mountingmeans after said engagement, and means to limit the conjoint movement ofsaid pawl and sector after said engagement.

2. In a suction cleaner, a body having a nozzle with lips, a wheel,means pivotally mounting said wheel on said body, a toothed sectorconnected to said mounting means and movablerelative to said body in thepivotal movement of said means, a stop movable with said sector, a pedalpivotally mounted on said body, a pawl pivotally mounted on said pedaladapted to engage said sector selectively in the pivotal movement ofsaid pedal and as determined by the position of said sector at the timeof engagement, stop means movable with said pedal adapted to engage thefirst mentioned stop means to prevent further movement of the sector andpedal in one direction, and resilient means to move said pedal to effectengagement of said pawl and sector and the movement of the latter tolower said mounting means and wheel until prevented by the engagement ofsaid stops.

3. In a suction cleaner, a body, a wheel, pivotal means mounting saidwheel on said body, an operator-operated pedal pivoted on said body onan axis spaced from the pivotal axis of said wheel, cooperating clutchmeans carried by and movable with said pivotal means and with said pedaland including elements adjustably engageable upon the movement of saidpedal in one direction and disengageable upon the movement of said pedalin the opposite direction, said clutch means functioning to connect saidpedal to said pivotal means for conjoint movement to adjust said wheelrelative to said body, spring means urging said pedal to engage saidclutch and to move said pedal and said pivotal means afterthe-engagement, and means on said pedal and pivotal means and movabletherewith to limit the conjoint movement thereof.

HARRY 33. WHITE,

